WESTPORT — The police chief, fire chief, and members of the Planning Board presented their departments' proposed FY14 budgets to the Finance Committee at a Feb. 19 meeting.

The Planning Board is requesting a $19,000 increase over this year's budget. In an attempt to keep their operating costs as low as possible, the Planning Board proposed eliminating the full-time position of department clerk and replacing it with a lower salaried part-time recording clerk.

As part of the plan, the Assistant Town Planner would assume some of the responsibilities of the eliminated position. The assistant planner's position is presently vacant.

This might look like a step back for the Planning Board, but over the last four years, only two out of the three main positions — Town Planner, Assistant Town Planner, and Clerk — have been filled at any one time.

"The department is falling behind all the time because of the long-term vacancies," Planning Board member James Whitin said. His position as Clerk of the Planning Board should not be confused with Planning Department clerk, the position proposed for elimination.

It should also be noted that only the position is being proposed for elimination. If the proposal is accepted, state law allows an unadvertised hiring for the new position, meaning the present clerk would be offered the new position first, if and when it's created.

The Finance Committee appeared to view the proposal favorably, with FinCom member Bob McCarthy calling it a "no-brainer." However, they declined to vote up or down on the proposed budget including the $19,000 increase, saying they want to see other departments' budget proposal first, especially, as Mr. McCarthy put it, the "big three."

One of the big three budgets referred to was the Police Department funding request. Chief of Police Keith Pelletier said his department's proposed FY14 budget included funding for three new police officers, one detective, and two additional cruisers.

According to Chief Pelletier, his 29 officers handled over 25,400 calls for service last year, including 200 breaking and entering calls in a town with 15,100 residents. He would like to increase his on-shift personnel to four officers per shift, stating that sometimes due to illness or other reasons, there can be as few as two officers on a shift.

In addition, he would like to be proactive in the planning for replacements. At this time, the department waits until an officer leaves before they hire replacement personnel. This procedure doesn't take into account the fact that it takes a year at the academy to train a new recruit.

The hiring of additional officers would allow for a smoother transition of personnel when someone leaves the department, he suggested.

Additionally, Chief Pelletier talked about the increased responsibility of the modern police officer. "Police work has evolved. Somebody is being harassed on FaceBook every day, and we get involved; if someone is being harassed by text message, we get involved; maybe they don't do that in the big cities, but I feel it's our responsibility," he said.

Combine that with the District Attorney's need for more technologically advanced forms of evidence, like video and computer information, and the need for more officers becomes apparent, he indicated.

With the police union going into arbitration within the next few months, Chief Pelletier also foresees salary increases on the horizon. He estimates at least a one percent increase in salaries both this year and next.

Fire Chief Brian Legendre presented his department's proposed FY14 budget, a request for slightly more than a two percent increase from last year. The additional funding is needed to absorb the department's collective bargaining increases, now in their third year, he said.

Due to the salary increases which hadn't been absorbed by previous budgets, the department was forced to lay off personnel in past years. Chief Legendre said he is now back to full staffing, and wants to keep it that way.

Chief Legendre noted that part of the money used to rehire laid-off personnel came from grant funding, which is due to expire in October 2013.

Right now, the Fire Department has 21 full-time firefighters; "the overtime expense would be drastic without the present manpower," he suggested.

The fire chief also predicts an increase in fuel costs going forward, another item reflected in the requested budget increase.